DC--Living Social Beerfest report

I attended the Living Social Beerfest event on Saturday. I had several hours before I became too hammered to pay attention to things.

The event was in Container Park, which is typically the Bud Light pre-game area for drinking prior to baseball games. The old parking lot is ringed by repainted old shipping containers. By 3PM the area was simply too small for the amount of attendees. Grossly overcrowded, and because of the design of the area there was simply no outlet for the crowd.

The band spent many hours setting up, and by the time I left had still not played. The crowd itself seemed to overwhelm the living social staffers.

The beer selection itself was great. Really great. Each brewery had two-three beers though draft boxes (with very few exceptions), and 90 percent of the pour areas were directly staffed by brewery or distributor employees. The tables lined the perimeter of the park, under canopies, which allowed for straight lines.

I first entered under the VIP (slightly more pricey) ticket, which allowed no wait pours for the first twoish hours. Beers were included, unlimited samples. Food was not, but there were 7 food trucks. There should have been 10-12 based on the lines by 3pm, but there simply was not room.

Based on wait time there should have been more portajohns, but again there simply wasn't room. By 3pm the time in line per beer pour was 10-15 minutes. The line to relieve yourself was about the same.

I recommend the event, with the advice that you pay to arrive early and do so.

A funny side note was that two distributors, Newcastle and Singha, decided that sex sells. Singa had a pour girl, who was Asian, dressed as a Thai hooker down to the crazy high heels, and Newcastle had their pour girls in what appeared to be the stripper versions of evening gowns. This was even funnier because the crowd at this event was about 40 percent women, much more than I am familiar with back in the mid-west.

 

There were a few rare beers, the smaller places really wanted to show off.

And yes, people were completely hammered.

I don't recall the plus up for the VIP, maybe $10?